Machine for stretching fur pelts



May 31, 1955 E. LANDESMANN Er AL 2,709,355

MACHINE FoR STRETCHING FUR PELTs Filed Nov. 2. 1955 2 sheets-sheet 1 May 3l, 1955 E. LANDESMANN er An.

MACHINE FOR STRETCHING FUR PELTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. .2. 1953 2,709,355 MACHINE FR STRETCHNG FUR PELTS Emile Landesmann, New York, and Charles Miller, Bronx, N.

Application November 2, 1953, Serial No. 389,608 9 Claims. (Cl. 69-33) The present invention relates to apparatus for stretching fur pelts, and has particular relation to a machine for stretching and flattening mink tails or the like into a form in which they may be used for fur manufacture.

In the fur industry in this country the tails of small fur-bearing animals, and especially minks, have hitherto beenregarded as waste and have been discarded, although it is well known that the linest fur on a minks body is located in its tail. The reason for such waste is that the pelt when cut from a mink tail is of thin cylindrical shape having approximately the diameter of an ordinary lead pencil. In order to utilize such pelts in fur manufacture, the pelt must be stretched and flattened, a delicate and painstaking process requiring kneading of the pelt skin. Such a process is performed by hand in several foreign countries where labor costs are inexpensive, but because the process is extremely time-consuming when manually performed it has not proven commercially practical inthis country and has therefore been avoided by fur manufacturers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine for the stretching of such fur pelts which is capable of turning out approximately 120 finished skins per hour as against approximately eight skins per hour by the manual method, thereby making the manufacture of tail pelts commercially feasible.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine of the character described in which the tail pelts are fed manually by actuation of a handle, such construction enabling the operation to feel the kneading operation of the machine so that individual attention may be given the pelts as the machine operates.

Still another object of the invention-is the provision of a machine of the character described which contains a minimum of moving parts, is simple and eicient to operate, and is economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention are inherent n the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the machine of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially along line 2 2 of Fig. l with the parts of the machine shown in inoperative position, and the travel of the feeding plate during operation shown in broken line;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial perspective View showing the construction of the mount for the feeding plate;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of the feeding plate mount as shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section of the kneading rollers as illustrated in Fig. 3, showing the manner in which said rollers treat the pelts.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the machine of the invention comprises a table 10 which is preferably made of wood or pressed composition material, although it may be made of any suitable material. The table 10 is provided with support legs 11 which may be in the lll ' at the left-hand end of the table which is 2,7%,355 Fatented May 31, 1955 The table 10 is provided with a continuous longitudinal through-and-through slot 13 which extends the length of said table. lf the table is made of wood or other nonmetallic material, the slot 13 may be bordered by angle irons 14 which extend along its edges for reinforcement thereof.

A feeding plate 15 extends through slot 13 and is mounted to slide longitudinally or horizontally therealong from one end of the table to the other. In Fig. 2, the full line representation of the plate 15 shows said plate its inoperative position. The lower broken-line representation of plate 15 shows it at the right-hand end of the table in operative position. A pair of stop pins 16 and 17 (Fig. 2) fixed to the table to extend across opposite sides of slot 13, limit the horizontal sliding movement of plate 15 in said slot between its inoperative and operative positions. The plate 15 is also mounted so that it may slide vertically through slot 13, in a manner which will be presently described.

The plate 15 is carried by mounting means shown in detail in Fig. 4 and comprises a bar 13 mountedbeneath the table 10 in alignment with and extending the length of slot 13. The bar 18, as shown in Fig. 2, has at each end depending integral legs 18a and 18h. Aliixed to the upper end of bar 1S are a pair of L-shaped rails 19, best shown in Fig. 4, whose top arms extend toward each other and define a slot 20 therebetween. The bottom end of plate 15 extends through this slot and rests upon the top surface of bar 18, the bars 19 and the slot 20 providing a track for the horizontal sliding movement of plate 15. One or more blocks 24 may be secured to the bottom end of plate 15 by screws 25 to guide the travel of plate 15 in slot 20. Respective pairs of bars 21 and 22 are mounted at each side of the table to depend from the bottom surface thereof. The bars of each paair 21 and 22 are spaced on each side of slot 13 and define therebetween respective slots 23 through which the plate mounting bar 13 extends for Vertical sliding movement. The upstanding rails 19 of bar 18 are located between the pairs of bars 21 and 22 and since the width of the combined rails 19 is greater than with the width of slots 23, the rails 19 prevent the bar 18 from moving horizontally through the slots 23. The bottom ends of bars 21 and 22 are joined by a flat cross-bar 26 which covers the bottom ends of slots 23 and thus prevents downward movement of bar 18 out of slots 23.

It will be noted in Fig. 2`that the depending terminal bar 1S are located outside the arms 18a and 18b of pairsof bars 21 and 22. Aixed to the lower outer surfaces of arms 18a and 1817, as by bolts 27, are the ends of respective sprocket chains 2S and 29. The opposite ends of said sprockets chains 23 and 29 are fixed to the working circumferences of respective sprockets and 31 as by bolts 32. The sprockets 30 and 31 are keyed to opposite ends of a shaft 32 which is journalled in bearings 33, 34 secured to respective bars 21, 22.

At one end of the shaft 32 is fixed a crank 35, the crank being located at the end of the table in which the plate 15 is located in its inoperative position. The crank is adapted to be turned manually by the operator, thus turning shaft 32 and the sprockets 30, 31 carried thereby. The sprockets 30, 31 have teeth 36 which mesh with respective openings in the sprocket chains 28, 39. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, in which the bar 18 is shown in its lowermost position in slots 23, it will be seen that when the crank 35 is turned in a clockwise direction, the sprocket wheels 3l), 31 will also turn clockwise and will retract. chains 28, 29, raising bar 18 and thereby raising plate l5 through slot i3.

The plate l5 has at its outer end a handle 37 which may be grasped by the operator for sliding plate i5 horizontally along slot i5. rEhe plate l5 also has a plurality of pins 3S upstanding from its top edge upon which a pelt P may be mounted.

Mounted on the table itl on the end opposite the crank 55, are driven means for kneading and working skins fed into the machine by the feeding plate 1S. These means comprise a pair of rollers 40, di each mounted on respective shafts 42, 43, the shafts being jour nailed at each end in respective pairs of bearings 44, 435. The bearings d4, are mounted upon blocks 46, 47 which are fixedly mounted on the surface of table lil and are spaced on either side of the slot 13.

The ends of shafts 42, 43 extend beyond the bearings 45 and each carries a respective gear 43, 49 whose teeth interrnesh. On the end of shaft 42 is xed a large pulley wheel Sil. Drive means whose preferred form is an electric motor 51 is also fixed to table lil, the shaft of motor 51 having a small pulley 5?.. An endless belt S3 is trained around the pulley 52 and the pulley wheel S0 so that operation of the motor 51 will turn pulley wheel Sil, out at a much slower rate of revolution than pulley 52. Suitable conventional switch means (not shown) may be provided for motor 51.

When the motor 51 is operated, pulley Wheel 5G, shaft 42, roller 40 and gear 4S will all be turned in unison.

The meshing of gear 48 with gear 49 will also cause gear "n 49, shaft 43 and roller 4l to turn, but in the opposite direction. rfhus, as indicated in Fig. 6, roller 46 will turn in a clockwise direction while roller 41 will turn in a counter-clockwise direction.

As shown in Fig. 6, each roller il and 41 comprises a cylindrical core 5S of rubber or other resilient material, through the center of which the respective shaft 42 or 43 extends. The core 55 is covered by a closely-fitting cylindrical sleeve 56 of thin corrugated sheet metal.

The rollers 4t) and 41 are spaced from each other a sufficient distance so that when the plate l5 is moved beneath the rollers and then raised, said plate l5 will move upwardly through the space between the rollers, and the outer corrugated sleeves 56 of said rollers will be very slightly spaced from the plate 1S. When a skin is mounted on plate 1S, however, the corrugations of sleeve 56 will make contact with said skin.

In the operation of the machine, the motor 51 is run continuously, so that the rollers 4@ and 4i rotate continuously. The plate i5 is originally in its inoperative position shown in full line in Fig. 1. The operator takes a tail pelt P, and impales it at its center on the pins 38 of plate l5 in the manner shown in Fig. l, with the skin of the pelt uppermost and the fur of the pelt lowerrnost.

The operator then grasps the plate handle 37 with one hand and slides the plate 15 horizontally rearward through slot 13 until it abuts the stop pin i7. As shown' in the lower broken-line view of plate 15 in Fig. 2, the plate 15 is now located directly beneath the rollers 4u, 4l. The operator now turns the crank 3S with his other hand, causing the raising mechanism to raise plate 15 vertically through slot 13 so that the upper portion of the plate l5 and the pelt P carried thereby are moved between the rotating rollers 40 and 4l.

The direction of rotation of the rollers f-Q and l is such as to cause the corrugations of their outer sleeves 56 to flatten the respective halves of the pelt P against the opposite faces of the plate 15, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, with the pcit skins outermost and the pelt fur abutting thc plate i5. As the pelt i is moved upwardly between the rotating rollers dit, dl, these corrugations l'rnead and rub the pelt skin, thereby stretching the pelt and flattening it outA After the pelt P has passed entirely between the rollers 46, 41, it may be removed from the pins 3S, and the plate 15 lowered and retracted to its inoperative position.

The thin metallic corrugated sleeve 56 cooperating with the resilient core SS of rollers 40 and 41, enables an efficient rubbing or kneading operation to be performed on the pelt skin without tearing or otherwise damaging the skin or the pelt fur. The resilience of the core 55 permits a limited inward radial movement of the sleeve corrugations should such corrugations encounter protrusion or irregularities on the pelt skin.

t will be observed in Figs. l and 2, that in the preferred form of the invention, the rollers "i0 and 41 are mounted with their axes inclined at a slight angle to the surface of the table l@ and to the top edge of plate 15. rfhus, when the plate l5 and pelt P are raised between the rollers 40. 4l, one end of the pelt P is drawn between the roller-s before the other end. Thus successive portions of the pclt are worked individually. This is advantageous since, as shown in Fig. 2, one end of a tail pelt is of appreciably greater' width than the other and individual treatment may be given these unequal ends. In this connection it will be appreciated that since the raising operation is performed manually by turning of the handle 35, the operator may regulate the rate of speed at which the pelt is fed between the rollers 40, 41. In such manual raising operation, the operator can feel the kneading of the skins and may accelerate or retard the feeding of the pelt, as is necessary.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that numerous changes, omissions, and additions may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for stretching fur pelts comprising a pair of pelt-kneading rollers, drive means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions, and means for feeding a fur pelt between said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the facing portions of said rollers, said feeding means including a flat plate, means for mounting the center of a fur pelt upon the top edge of said plate, and means for raising said plate between said rollers with the mounted pelt contacting said rollers, said raising means including a mounting for the bottom of said plate, means to guide said mounting for vertical movement, and manually operable means for raising said mounting along said guide means.

2. A machine for stretching fur pelts comprising a pair of pelt-kneading rollers, drive means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions, and means for feeding a fur pelt between said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the facing portions of said rollers, said feeding means including a at plate, means for mounting the center of a fur pelt upon the top edge of said plate, and means for raising said plate between said rollers with the mounted pelt contacting said rollers, said raising means including a mounting for the bottom of said plate, means to guide said mounting for vertical movement, and manually-operable means for raising said mounting along said guide means, said mounting raising means comprising a sprocket, a sprocket chain attached at one end to said sprocket and at the other end to said mounting, and crank means for turning said sprocket to wind said chain.

3. A machine for stretching fur pelts comprising a table having a slot therein, a pair of closely-spaced pelt-kneading rollers mounted above the surface of said table, drive means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions, and means for feeding a fur pelt between said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the adjacent facing surfaces of said rollers, said feeding means including a flat plate extending slidably through said table slot and normally located remote from said rollers, means for mounting a fur pelt at its center upon the top surface of said plate, gripping means on said plate for manually sliding said plate through said slot to a position beneath said rollers, and means for raising said plate through said slot between said rollers with the mounted pelt contacting said rollers.

4. A machine for stretching fur pelts comprising a table having a slot therein, a pair of closely-spaced pelt-kneading rollers mounted above the surface of said table, drive means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions, and means for feeding a fur pelt between said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of thc adjacent facing surfaces of said rollers, said feeding means including a at plate extending slidably through said table slot and normally located remote from said rollers, means for mounting a fur pelt at its center upon the top surface of said plate, gripping means on said plate for manually sliding said plate through said slot to a position beneath said rollers, and means for raising said plate through said slot between said rollers with the mounted pelt contacting said rollers, the raising means including a mount` ing slidably holding the bottom edge of said plate, means` fixed to the bottom surface of said table for guiding said mounting for vertical movement, and manually-operable means for raising said mounting along said guide means.

5. A machine according to claim 4 in which said mounting raising means includes a shaft journalled beneath the table surface, a pair of sprockets mounted on opposite ends of said shaft, a respective sprocket chain attached at one end to each sprocket and at the other end to one end of the mounting, and crank means for turning said shaft.

6. A machine for stretching fur pelts comprising a table having a slot therein, a pair of closely-spaced pelt-kneading rollers mounted above the surface of said table, drive means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions, and means for feeding a fur pelt between said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the adjacent facing surfaces of said rollers, said feeding means including a flat plate extending slidably through said table slot and normally located remote from said rollers, means for mounting a fur pelt at its center upon the top surface of said plate, a bar extending the length of said slot and slidably supporting the bottom surface of said plate, guide arms depending from the bottom of said table and positioned to guide said bar for vertical movement, said plate being slidable on said bar along said slot to a feeding position beneath said rollers, and means to raise said bar along said guide arms whereby said plate and the mounted pelt is raised between said rollers with the pelt contacting the outer surfaces of said rollers.

7. A machine according to claim 6 in which said raising means includes a sprocket, a sprocket chain connected at one end to said sprocket and at the other end to said bar, and crank means for turning said sprocket.

S. A machine according to claim 6 in which said raising means includes a shaft journalled beneath said table, a pair of sprockets mounted at opposite ends of said shaft, a respective sprocket chain attached at one end to each sprocket and at the other end to one end of the bar, and crank means for turning said shaft.

9. A machine for stretching fur pelts comprising a pair of cylindrical pelt-kneading rollers, drive means for rotating said rollers in opposite directions and a movable plate having a planar top edge and means for mounting a fur pelt at its center upon said top edge, and means for moving said plate between said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the adjacent facing surface portions of the rollers, said rollers being positioned with their axes at an angle to the top edge of said plate.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 584,123 Turner June 8, 1897 691,307 Chain Jan. 14, 1902 791,006 Chain May 30, 1905 840,029 Turner Jan. l, 1907 973,675 Lucke et al Oct. 25, 1910 2,063,974 Ballard Dec. 15, 1936 

